Cluster assembly and connector clip therefor

ABSTRACT

A cluster assembly in which three connector clips and lead wires extending therefrom are disposed equiangularly in a block for application to a three pinned header. Each clip has a ferrule by which one or two lead wires are attached, a shank integral with the ferrule and a strip looped upon itself to form a pin receiving receptacle, the end of the strip being clamped against the shank. Detent tabs project from opposite sides of the clip to lock the clips in the housing. The housing has three passageways to receive the clips, each passageway having grooves in the opposed surfaces in which the detent tabs ride when the clips are inserted into the housing.

ilnite tates atent 1191 Heimhrock 1 Dec. 10, 1974 CLUSTER ASSEMBLY AND CONNECTOR CLIP THEREFOR [75] Inventor: Henry H. Hei'mlbrock, Cincinnati,

[52] US. Cl. 339/192 RL, 339/217 S, 339/256 R [51] int. Cl H011 33/72 [58] Field of Search 339/192 RL, 217 S, 252, 339/256, 258, 259

[56], References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 913,501 4/1909 Bolton 339/256 c 1,320,594 11/1919 Windibank 339/256 c x 2,076,694 4/1937 Bertschi 339/256 T 2,191,297 2/1940 Olson 339/252 R 1 2,666,189 1/1954 cook...., 339/259 R x 2,762,026 9/1956 Knohl 339/217 5 x 2,852,755 9/1958 Martines 339 276 T 2,877,442 3/1959 Gettig 339/258 s 3,178,673 4/1965 Krehbiel 339 217 s 3,206,715 Skony, 339 258 R x 3,425,030 1/1969 -Hadden.,. 339/256 SP 3,566,341 2/1971 Skony 1. 339/192 RL 3,777,302 12/1973 Travis 339 256 R x FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 1,159,0 4 12/1963 Germany 339/217 5 Primary Examiner-Paul R. Gilliam Assistant ExaminerLawrence J. Staab Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Wood, Herron & Evans [57] ABSTRACT A cluster assembly in which three connector clips and lead wires extending therefrom are disposed equiangularly in a block for application to a three pinned header. Eachtclip has a ferrule by which one or two lead wires are attached, a shank integral with the ferrule and a strip looped upon itself to form a pin receiving receptacle, the end of the strip being clamped against the shank. Detent tabs project from opposite sides'of the clip to lock the clips in the housing. The housing has three passageways to receive the clips, each passageway having grooves in the opposed surfaces in which the detent tabs ride when the clips are inserted into the housing.

5 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures PATENTEL SEC 1 0 I974 L364 v 4a 1 CLUSTER ASSEMBLY AND CONNECTOR CLIP THEREFOR This invention relates to a cluster assembly of connector clips, and more particularly the invention is directed to a cluster assembly for higher horsepower applications than have been possible with cluster assemblies previously developed and marketed.

The invention has principal application to a hermetically sealed compressor for use in refrigeration and air conditioning. The compressor consists of a hermetically sealed housing within which is contained the compressor and a motor for driving the compressor. A glass-to-metal seal or header is fixed in the housing wall and provides three conductive pins extending from the inside to the outside of the housing wall to which electrical connection is made to supply power to the motor within the housing.

For low horsepower applications, the lead wires from the motor are applied to the pins within the housing by means of a cluster assembly. The cluster assembly is an insulative block containing three equiangularly spaced clips which are pushed onto the three header pins within the housing. For higher horsepower applications, the cluster assembly has not been used because industry has not been satisfied that a satisfactory electrical connection can be madeLAs a consequence, each pin of the header has had two male spades each welded at two spots to the pin, the spades being mounted on opposite sides of each pin. Six clips, each containing a lead wire, are connected to the spades to form the connection between the pins and the motor. That construction is obviously uneconomical in several respects. The requirement of welding six male spades to each side of the header is obviously much more expensive than using a header having only the bare pins to which a cluster assembly is applied. Further, the time required for an assembler to apply six individual clips to each side of the header is greater than that required to push on a single cluster assembly.

A principal area of improvement in the clip which results in improvement in the performance in all of the areas resides in the receptacle construction in which a conductive strip extending from the shank of the clip is looped upon itself with its end being securely clamped to the shank. This structure not only improves the current carrying characteristics and, hence, lowcred millivolt drop and temperature rise characteristics of the clip, but also provides a good push on pull of force characteristic by which a secure and good current carrying capability from pin to clip is achieved.

Another objective of the invention has been to provide a cluster assembly comprising the combination of an insulative block, three connector clips within the block and two lead wires clamped to each connector clip and extending from the block. Through the use of two lead wires for each clip combined with a heavier duty clip, the desired current carrying capability is achieved without sacrifice of the flexibility of the lead wires which is desired and which is not possible with the stiff single conductors which have the same current carrying capability as the combined pair of conductors.

Another objective of the invention has been to provide a secure lock for each clip within the insulative block, the lock consisting of two detent tabs projecting from opposite sides of the receptacle and engageable with locking abutments within the insulative block. The invention further provides grooves in opposed surfaces in the passageways within the block in which the detent tabs ride when the clip is inserted into the block. The clip receptacle engages the opposed surfaces of its passageway preventing cocking of the clip as it is inserted and thus maintaining the detent tabs riding properly in their grooves free from deforming stresses until the clip is almost completely in position. In the final stage of insertion of the clip, the tabs ride over a ramp forming part of the abutment and are thereafter locked into position.

Another objective of the invention has been to provide a connector clip having a greater mass and surface area and which thereby provides improved heat sink and dissipation characteristics.

These and other objectives of theinvention will become more readily apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which: I

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a cluster-assembly and an associated header;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view partially broken away of the cluster assembly having one connector clip removed; and

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along lines 3-3 of FIG. 2.

The cluster assembly comprises a block or housing 10 having three connector clips 11 mounted-within the block, the block forming a housing for the connector clips. Each connector clip has a ferrule 12, a shank 13 integral with the ferrule and a receptacle 14 integral with the shank. The receptacle has a pin receiving opening 15 whose axis is oriented perpendicularly to the two main surfaces of the block 10. One of the surfaces of the block- 10 has openings 16 which are aligned with thereceptacles of the respective clips when the clips. are in place within the block. When thus assembled, the cluster assembly is adapted for application to the three pins 17 of a glass-to-metal seal or header 18; In the case of the higher horsepower application, the pins of the glass-to-metal seal would normally be 0.125 inches diameter pins and the receptacle opening would be approximately 0.120 inch at its smallest dimension.

The ferrule 12 has a first pair of ears 20 which are adapted to be crimped about the insulation of the lead wires 21 applied to the clip. As indicated above, in the preferred embodiment of the invention two lead wires 21 of No. 12 size wire are employed to provide the desired current carrying capacity without sacrifice to the flexibility of the-lead wires.

The ferrule has a second set of cars 22 which are crimped about the bared ends 23 of the stranded lead wires. Between the two pairs of ears are laterally projecting wings 24 which have approximately the same transverse dimension as the passageway in the block and hence tend to stabilize the clip against rocking when the clip is inserted in the passageway.

A shank 26 is integral with the ferrule. The shank 26 has a trapezoidal portion whose marginal edges 27 are bent at right angles to the plane of the shank to provide a greater cross-sectional area and more mass to improve the current carrying, heat sink and heat dissipating characteristics of the clip. The shank also has a rectangular portion 28 to which the receptacle 14 is connected. The receptacle 14 is formed by a strip 29 projecting integrallyfrom the shank 13 and looped upon itself with its end 30 being clamped to the shank l3 overlying the rectangular portion 28 of the shank. A pair of ears 31 project laterally from the rectangular portion 28 of the shank 13, the ears 31 being crimped upon the end 30 of the receptacle forming strip to clamp it snugly against the shank. The clamping of the end 30 to the shank 13 provides a good second path for current to flow from the receptacle to the shank.

The receptacle has two parallel side walls 35 which provide a greater longitudinal dimension than the transverse dimension of the receptacle opening 15. Thus, if a pin 17 is applied at a slight angle to the axis through the receptacle opening, it will not distort the walls of the receptacle and hence will not adversely affeet the firm electrically conductive contact made between the receptacle and the pin.

The receptacle includes a wall 36 which is integral with the end 30 and which projects perpendicularly away from the shank 13. Two detent tabs 37 project angularly away from the wall 36 and are centrally located with respect to the transverse dimension of the receptacle. The receptacle has opposed edges 39 which lie in parallel planes and ride between surfaces in the insulative block 10 as the clip is inserted into the insulative block, as will be explained below.

The insulative block or housing 10 for the clips is shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 and is preferably an integrally molded element having a front wall 40, a back wall 41 and side walls 42. Two identical outer passageways 45 and an elongated central passageway 46 are formed within the block, the passageways terminating in shoulders 47 at the holes 16 in the front wall of the block. Each passageway has opposed surfaces 48 which are spaced apart by a distance slightly greater than the distance between opposed edges 39 of the receptacle. Each of those surfaces 48 has a central groove 49 extending through most of the length of each passageway. An abutment 50 is at the end of each groove, the abutment including a ramp 51 over which the tab detent 37 rides when the clip is applied. A detent receiving hole 52 is formed in both front and back walls adjacent the abutments 50 into which the tab detents 37 spring as each clip is applied.

The dimensioning of each passageway is such that the clip can ride freely in the passageway as it is inserted, but the fit of the opposed surfaces 48 with respect to the receptacle edges 39 is such as to prevent the clip from rolling or rocking as it is inserted and hence keeps the detent tabs properly aligned with the grooves 49 as the receptacle is thrust into the block. The entrance to the passageways is slightly flared as at 54 to facilitate the introduction of the clips into the housing.

To provide added assurance that the detent tabs will not plastically deform upon introduction into the block, the ears 31 by which the receptacle end is clamped to the shank may be formed as illustrated in phantom lines in FIG. 2 so as to more completely underlie the detent tabs and block inward bending of the detent tabs to the extent that they would plastically deform.

In the application of the invention, preferably two lead wires 21 are crimped to the ferrule 12 to provide the desired current carrying capacity. The clips, with lead wires attached, are inserted in the insulative block 10. As they are inserted, the detent tabs 37 ride in the grooves 49 until they reach the ramps 51. The detent tabs flex slightly inwardly to ride past the ramp 51 and the abutment 50 and snap into the opposed holes 52 to securely lock the clips in the block. When locked in that position, receptacle opening 15 is in alignment with the holes 16 in the front wall of the block, thereby making them accessible to the pins 17 of the header 18.

I claim:

1. A connector clip consisting of a one piece sheet metal element for making electrical connection between a lead wire and a pin comprising,

ferrule means for gripping a lead wire,

a pair of wings projecting in opposite directions from said ferrule means,

a shank projecting from said ferrule means,

a strip projecting from said shank, said strip being looped upon itself to form a receptacle for the receipt of said pin,

the dimension between the extremities of said wings being substantially the same as the width of said strip,

and means tightly clamping the end of said strip against said shank, thereby forming two low resistance current paths from said receptacle to said shank.

2. A cluster assembly comprising,

an insulative housing having three longitudinal passageways opening at one end of said housing for receiving connector clips,

said housing having a transverse pin receiving opening communicating with each passageway,

said housing having two opposed transverse detent receiving holes adjacent each said opening,

, longitudinal grooves narrower than and centrally located in opposed surfaces of each passageway, said grooves extending from said one end of said passageway and terminating in abutments adjacent said holes,

a connector clip in each passageway and including a receptacle and a ferrule to which a lead wire is attached,

each clip having a pair of projecting detents integral with said receptacle and projecting outwardly and toward said ferrule aligned with said grooves,

said detents riding in said grooves and finally passing over said abutment and into said detent receiving holes when said clip is inserted into a passageway with said clip leading and said lead wire trailing, thereby minimizing the possibility of deforming said detents.

3. A block for a cluster assembly comprising,

an insulative housing having three longitudinal passageways opening at one end of said housing for receiving connector clips,

said housing having a transverse pin receiving opening communicating with each passageway,

said housing having two opposed transverse detent receiving holes adjacent each said opening,

longitudinal grooves narrower than and centrally located in opposed surfaces of each passageway,.said grooves extending from said one end of said passageway and terminating adjacent said clip receiving holes,

and an abutment at the end of each groove adjacent said hole-adapted to be engaged by a detent on a connector clip.

4. A connector clip for making electrical connection between a lead wire and a pin and adapted to be mounted in a block comprising,

ferrule means for gripping the lead wire,

a shank projecting from said ferrule means,

a strip projecting from said shank, said strip being looped upon itself to form a receptacle for the receipt of said pin,

means clamping the end of said strip against said shank, the end of said strip having a clamping portion lying against said shank and a detent carrying portion projecting from said clamping portion perpendicularly to said shank and having opposed edges,

and a detent projecting from each said edge of said detent carrying portion for locking said clip in a block.

5. A cluster assembly comprising,

an insulative housing having three longitudinal passageways opening at one end of said housing for receiving connector clips,

said housing having a transverse pin receiving opening communicating with each passageway,

said housing having two opposed transverse detent receiving holes adjacent each said opening,

longitudinal grooves narrower than said passageways located in opposed surfaces of each passageway, said grooves extending from said one end of said passageway and terminating adjacent said detent receiving holes,

a connector clip in each passageway and including a receptacle and a ferrule to which a lead wire is attached,

- each receptacle having opposed parallel edges lying close to said opposed surfaces and a pairof detents projecting beyond the plane of said edges and adapted to ride in said grooves as said clip is inserted into said housing,

the engagement of said receptacle edges with said opposed surfaces preventing said receptacle from rocking during insertion, whereby deformation of said detents riding in said grooves is minimized. 

1. A connector clip consisting of a one piece sheet metal element for making electrical connection between a lead wire and a pin comprising, ferrule means for gripping a lead wire, a pair of wings projecting in opposite directions from said ferrule means, a shank projecting from said ferrule means, a strip projecting from said shank, said strip being looped upon itself to form a receptacle for the receipt of said pin, the dimension between the extremities of said wings being substantially the same as the width of said strip, and means tightly clamping the end of said strip against said shank, thereby forming two low resistance current paths from said receptacle to said shank.
 2. A cluster assembly comprising, an insulative housing having three longitudinal passageways opening at one end of said housing for receiving connector clips, said housing having a transverse pin receiving opening communicating with each passageway, said housing having two opposed transverse detent receiving holes adjacent each said opening, longitudinal grooves narrower than and centrally located in opposed surfaces of each passageway, said grooves extending from said one end of said passageway and terminating in abutments adjacent said holes, a connector clip in each passageway and including a receptacle and a ferrule to which a lead wire is attached, each clip having a pair of projecting detents integral with said receptacle and projecting outwardly and toward said ferrule aligned with said grooves, said detents riding in said grooves and finally passing over said abutment and into said detent receiving holes when said clip is inserted into a passageway with said clip leading and said lead wire trailing, thereby minimizing the possibility of deforming said detents.
 3. A block for a cluster assembly comprising, an insulative housing having three longitudinal passageways opening at one end of said housing for receiving connector clips, said housing having a transverse pin receiving opening communicating with each passageway, said housing having two opposed transverse detent receiving holes adjacent each said opening, longitudinal grooves narrower than and centrally located in opposed surfaces of each passageway, said grooves extending from said one end of said passageway and terminating adjacent said clip receiving holes, and an abutment at the end of each groove adjacent said hole adapted to be engaged by a detent on a connector clip.
 4. A connector clip for making electrical connection between a lead wire and a pin and adapted to be mounted in a block comprising, ferrule means for gripping the lead wire, a shank projecting from said ferrule means, a strip projecting from said shank, said strip being looped upon itself to form a receptacle for the receipt of said pin, means clamping the end of said strip against said shank, the end of said strip having a clamping portion lying against said shank and a detent carrying portion projecting from said clamping portion perpendicularly to said shank and having opposed edges, and a detent projecting from each said edge of said detent carrying portion for locking said clip in a block.
 5. A cluster assembly comPrising, an insulative housing having three longitudinal passageways opening at one end of said housing for receiving connector clips, said housing having a transverse pin receiving opening communicating with each passageway, said housing having two opposed transverse detent receiving holes adjacent each said opening, longitudinal grooves narrower than said passageways located in opposed surfaces of each passageway, said grooves extending from said one end of said passageway and terminating adjacent said detent receiving holes, a connector clip in each passageway and including a receptacle and a ferrule to which a lead wire is attached, each receptacle having opposed parallel edges lying close to said opposed surfaces and a pair of detents projecting beyond the plane of said edges and adapted to ride in said grooves as said clip is inserted into said housing, the engagement of said receptacle edges with said opposed surfaces preventing said receptacle from rocking during insertion, whereby deformation of said detents riding in said grooves is minimized. 